Ryan Reynolds explains ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ tribute to costar’s late son

Ryan Reynolds is opening up about the meaningful tribute that appears during the end credits of Deadpool & Wolverine.

The Deadpool actor, writer, and producer revealed that the highly successful threequel is dedicated to his costar Rob Delaney’s late son Henry, who died at age 2 from a brain tumor in 2018. 

“If you stayed through the credits of Deadpool & Wolverine, you might notice a credit saying, ‘For Henry Delaney,’” Reynolds wrote in a poignant Instagram post on Monday. “Henry was Rob’s son. And Rob lost his little boy to a brain tumor in 2018. Right as we finished Deadpool 2.” 

Delaney starred as Wade’s best buddy Peter — also known as Sugarbear — in the second Deadpool installment. Reynolds admitted that he’s “always kicked my own ass” because he didn’t put a tribute to Henry at the end of the 2018 film. 

“If there’s a bright side, even more people are seeing Henry’s name in the credits of Deadpool & Wolverine,” Reynolds explained, a nod to Deadpool & Wolverine‘s continued popularity amongst theatergoers even after recently becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. “And now, at long last, father and son are sharing the same screen.” 

Reynolds also took a moment to spotlight Delaney’s 2022 memoir A Heart That Works, which he described as an “incredible piece of writing which explores the kaleidoscopic colours of emotion Henry’s passing revealed.” 

Alongside his post, Reynolds shared a collection of photos of himself and Delaney both on and off multiple Deadpool sets. He added, “I’m lucky to know Rob. And I’m lucky to have friends willing to put themselves on the line to make others feel less alone.”

Henry was first diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly after his very first birthday in 2016. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor in 2017, but the cancer later returned and he died on Delaney’s birthday in January 2018.

While visiting The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2022, Delaney explained that he chose to write A Heart That Works as a way to “bridge that gap between something that many people would, rightfully, consider unimaginable and Regular Joes just walking down the street, whistling, not knowing what that stuff is like.” 

Delaney admitted that he was “very angry” when he first started writing the book, but that his perspective slowly shifted over time.

“I was like, ‘I want to hurt people, you know? I want to pummel people. Somebody went to the bookstore for entertainment? Well, they deserve to be punished by my book about my sadness and my anger,’” he recalled. “And then, over time, it just became more and more about love. So it was very educational for me.”